You can always tell there's protestin' afoot at the Federal Building in Westwood by the cars honking on Wilshire. The more cars you hear at a distance, the larger the crowd. Tonight there was a medium-sized protest, but only a little honking. Why so little support from the commuters? This was a protest against an Iranian crackdown on student activism, and why show support for people demonstrating over an issue that cannot be blamed on Bush? Even though some blame does belong to presidents from Eisenhower through Carter. Unfortunately I could not take any pictures, as this is one of those days I don't carry a camera with me, ending in 'y' and all.
I felt bad for the protestors. Although some of them had that circle march 'n chant thing going, they're not quite ready for prime time. For one thing, they were carrying signs with too 
much information, which could not be easily read by responsible drivers. Okay, so the font size wasn't the key problem. But come on, you're in the U.S. now, people. If your views can't fit on a bumper sticker, if they don't rhyme or at least alliterate, they're not fit for American political discourse. And the symbolism of demonstrating at the Federal Building works best when you're protesting something the federal government has control or influence over, which doesn't much include Iran. Still, there's something, I dunno, just plain cute about immigrants actually believing that public demonstrations can make a difference in the U.S. I didn't have the heart to mention the Amendment stating, "The right to assemble, and be ignored, by passing motorists, shall not be infringed."
And how are scheduling mixups handled? You do see protests against the Iranian Government periodically, though in smaller numbers than the anti-Iraq War protests. What happens if both groups show up the same day? Do they rosham for it? I would love to listen to a conversation between members of each group.
"In Iran we do not have the right to protest the abuses of the government, so it is important that we make ourselves heard whenever and whereever we can."
"Oh, I know, totally. My cousin knows this guy whose roommate got busted for talking online about how Bush was really behind 9/11, no one's seen him since. I hope it's not as bad in Iran as it is here. That's south of Brazil, right?"
"Just last week my niece was arrested for demonstrating in Teheran. No family members have been allowed to speak to her."
"Wow, that really sucks. My friend got arrested for having a Kerry bumper sticker, they said it was for driving stoned with an half-ounce under the mat but he's a totally good driver, no way he swerved. He might lose his license for a year. Total bullshit, man."
One more tangentially related topic. Supposedly, Bush's poll numbers have climbed back up to about 40%, from the 30% or thereabouts early this year. Now, it's easy to make fun of that 30%, but both parties have their core voters who are going to support their guy no matter what, which is what Bush was probably down to. Bush is only losing them if he receives a blowjob or balances the budget, as these are the only ways to conclusively prove that a president is unfit for office in such quarters. My question is, what's going on with the other 10%? Did I miss some achievement by this administration in the last few months? Is he getting credit for the North Koreans being too stupid to build a decent missle? Are 30 million Americans actually saying to themselves, you know, back in January I wasn't real happy with Bush, but boy he's sure turned it up a notch since? Who are these people?
Boy, Tex, I am really surprised at you. I would never have expected you, of all people, to overestimate the intelligence of 30 million Americans. I give you three words - "cut and run" - throw a little catchy phrase out there that not only deflects criticism off you but deftly manages to make the other guy look like the incompetent boob and boom, ten percentage points. Don't cloud the issue with facts, Tex, when it's all about the soundbite. Besides, Bush just lowered the deficit! It's now only the 4th largest deficit in history! The guy is simply prescient - that oughta get him another few points. Too bad the media keep reporting on all those deaths in Iraq - they are such killjoys.
Posted by: Alison | July 12, 2006 at 08:40 AM
Hmmm, I guess. He's been trying the soundbite strategy all along though. One explanation I thought of is that maybe it's the people who don't think the government is cracking down enough on civil liberties, and are actually supporting him more as the awareness of all the wiretapping, torture, threatening the press, etc. spreads with greater media coverage. That's a fun thought.
Posted by: Tex | July 12, 2006 at 08:10 PM
That's weird. As far as I can tell, Alison's comment just vanished. I didn't do it, I swear! Typepad's been acting up all day, so maybe that's it.
Posted by: Tex | July 12, 2006 at 08:13 PM
Oh, I get it - dare to criticize Tex and your comment mysteriously "vanishes" - well, if it works for the US government, why not for you? Seems like a pretty winning strategy . . . keep up the good work!
Posted by: Alison | July 13, 2006 at 08:44 AM
I can explain! The NSA made me do it! I also may have given them your full name and address - hey, they were threatening to ship me off to Guantanamo.
Besides, if I were to intentionally delete comments, I'd go after Mike's blasphemous anti-White Sox bloviations...
Posted by: Tex | July 13, 2006 at 11:03 AM